Rebuilding the GOP

She wore a fucking corsage to the fucking dinner thing she attended this weekend, a fucking corsage. Mrs. Prom said, Where does she think she is, the fucking Prom?”

I am suprised that she doesn’t wear a fucking sash all the time that says “Governor,” like Mayor Quimby.

@Prom, I see your wonderful Achewood and raise you Eyebeam. All is right with the world with the return of Sam Hurt and Eyebeam.

I believe I’ve found the next campaign we want to promote.

@Prommie: Makes some sense when you think about it. The dipshit thinks she’s still in high school and acts accordingly, right down to the nonsensical, stall-for-time responses to interview questions (“In what respect, Charlie?” “His world view”) she doesn’t understand. She’s the homecoming queen. She must have a corsage. It’s fucking perfect.

Given how they’ve spent a generation pandering to the mob, they shouldn’t be surprised when the mob is all that remains.

If they’re looking for centrist Rockefeller Republicans, they should hop in the Wayback Machine and set the dial for the early ’80s, when they started methodically purging the party. Talibunny is the inevitable result of their machinations, not some accident.

Which in turn shows the pointlessness of trying to appeal to the House Repugs — they’re all survivors of the safe districts, with no electoral interest in “bipartisanship”. (Senators still have to win statewide, so some can be budged.) Barry made his gesture, and now he would be wise to ignore them.

The Demrats had to pledge obeisance to Reaganism to survive. The Repugs have no similar option, since even the suggestion of compromise is heresy.

(Don’t mind me, just practicing talking points for Keith. Why doesn’t he call?)

@nojo: Ya notice that the right wing slime machine is going after Kieth now, in a big way? Its their defence against Obama calling out Limbaugh, it seems, and also part of the continuing effort to mau-mau the media.

Pure CIA disinformation tactics, the swiftboating thing, and the republicans are expanding the pool of targets, it used to be only the candidates, now its any public figure who tells the truth.

@nojo: They made this mistake with the muhajedin in Afghanistan and with the theocratic right in the states. Again, the states has subjected itself to covert operations blowback, in this instance by the RNC running the GOP campaigns as if they were intelligence operations, recruiting peripheral lunatic fringe outfits to support a political objective. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, you get Taliban. In the states, Talibunny.

Talking to any Republicans in Congress is as pointless as trying to appeal to the creature from Alien by petting its snout. The cure for both opponents is the same. 8 gallon can of high test and a Zippo.

Should I slap around KO and tell him to call you?

@Prommie: Did she get faced on rum and cokes and blow lunch on her date’s bunch in the back of the car?

Not surprised as quaint terms “Thinking” and “intelligence” have been erased from the Republicon’s dickshunharry.

@nabisco: I had an Eyebeam book from when it ran in the UT student newspaper.

@Prommie: My light weekend reading was “The Grand Inquisitor’s Manual” by Johnathan Kirch, who also did another favorite of mine, “The History of the End of the Word” about apocalyptic world views over the last thousand years. Discredit, dehumanize your enemy, fear new thought, champion the orthodoxy . . . he makes the point that the spirit of the Inquisition lives on in the Stalinist and Nazi purges, in McCarthyism and at Abu Grahib and Guantanimo.

In the late 70s and early 80s the Dems became so identified by their press loving fringe [think EarthFirst, ActUp, etc] that it scared the crap out enough moderate folks such that we were stuck with RR, GHWB and GWB (I suggest that Clinton was an aberration from the generally fearful nature of the country at the time, one that would have lost to nearly anyone *but* GHWB (who really didn’t want to win again…)). That is, the “Vocal Minority” of the Democratic Party pushed away enough of the more quiet (and moderate) majority that the Dems effectively gave away two decades of leadership…

The pendulum appears to have swung (is still swinging?!?) the other way, the Republican’s “Vocal Minority” has become/is becoming the “face of the GOP” and is similarly pushing away the more rational/moderate majority. Interestingly, I think the problems the Republicans have is more schismatic and, if not dealt with relatively soon, is going to mark the end of the GOP as it has been known. I know a lot of Repubs…the vast majority of old school WFB-esque/fiscal conservative members like where they see the party heading, but none see rationality returning in the foreseeable future. I think the GOP is going to see a hugh “I didn’t leave the GOP, it left me” movement.

The question is, of course, where will they go. When the Dems shifted, it was to “Compassionate Conserv.” under the arms of RR. Valid or not, it made it “easy” for conservative Dems to shift allegiances. Can the Dem’s embody a “Conservative Liberal” mantel such to absorb fleeing Repubs? Maybe. Maybe not. 3rd party seems unlikely as well (though not a bad thing for the Dems).

It is going to be interesting to see what happens in the next few months and years.

@LuxMentis:

I think this is an interesting point… as clearly many Republicans will run frantically away from Palin’s lack of substance and overabundance of prom queen style. Where will they go? I hope the fear will push them simply to supporting whatever change is necessary for now and finding someone to support when their time is right–which is certainly no time with Palin on the radar.

@redmanlaw: I think he pretty much stopped drawing after that first series of books and strips in the 80s. I have an awesome 50th anniversary tee he designed for the Tx. Observer.

@nabisco: Early on, he did a Nancy homage, too cool.

@FlyingChainSaw: Probably, then was rendered pregnant, while unconscious, by her courteous and thoughtful date.

@nabisco: He liked Crumb more than a bit, huh?

Say hello to the new Great Schism:

Just 15% of Evangelical Christian voters feel that the Republican Party has been too conservative for the past eight years, while 50% think it has been too moderate. By contrast, pluralities of other Protestant voters (40%) and Catholics (38%) feel the party has gone too far to the right.

@LuxMentis: You won’t like the answer, but the dems are still associated with too many groups that the press presents as “crazy,” its all part of the CIA mind control program of disinfo. Is it a coincidence that every election year, some nutjob atheist sues to have the word “God” removed from the dictionaries in public libraries, and of course there will be a gay scoutmaster suing to be allowed to mentor young boys on extended camping trips, and the press will spend half its time on perceived crazy democratic constituents, you got your ball-busting dykes, your homo kidfuckers, your gun controlling commies, and worst of all, Hillary.

@LuxMentis: A third party didn’t work for John Anderson, it didn’t work for Perot, and Lincoln’s long dead. Given how the U.S. system works, the likely result is an even larger body of swing voters, including nominal Republicans who don’t feel committed to their party.

That’s Barry’s play, symbolized by his 2004 speech and last summer’s lunge for the center. Bubba professed triangulation, but Barry knows it in his soul — and knows enough to sell it as high principle.

I keep returning to Barry’s favorite pasttime to understand his moves. No, not hoops — poker.

@mellbell:

Music to my ears, baby.

@nojo: At first I though the “stimulus” was really just a huge pile of pork for teachers and public employees, but then I saw, its really just a massive infusion to help the state’s balance their budgets, and this has already split the republican governors from their congress-shitbags. Don’t know if it will be enough, but its pretty nifty.

@Prommie:

They’ve gone suspiciously easy on the hillbot though, of late. Fear of the Black man and bloviating about the “socialist” stimulus package seems to have decreased their appetite for Hillary flesh. I think they’re nostalgic a time when their demon was a cold, ever-so-slighly condescending uppity-woman, and thus are giving her a pass.

On the one hand, I’m thrilled that an African American and a woman are the faces of the Republican Party now. It’s an incredible, almost inconceivable change–an historical jump-cut, if you will.

On the other had, I find everything about them to be absolutely appalling.

Wasn’t it George Carlin that said “there’s really no point to sexism and racism. Once you get to know people you’ll find all kinds of other reasons to hate them.”

So very, very true.

@Prommie: We may dispute some of Barry’s moves, but he’s very good at what he does. You cannot transcend politics, but you don’t have to play the game like a lineman.

Shorter version: Barry sees the Matrix.

If you’re still in danger of getting any work done today, Google Ocean has launched and is said to be awesome.

@Mistress Cynica: I was going to counter with a Google Moon link, but some goofball removed the Swiss cheese image that used to show up when you zoomed in all the way.

@Prommie: I just realized this. It’s a brilliant move by Obama.

@Prommie: Don’t disagree at all…but at this moment in history, the wingnuts on the Dem side and slightly less scary/crazed than the wingnuts on the Rep side. One of the great “imbalances” is that the Rep fringe are so good at using Fear of the Unknown (FU) to get their base twitchy and to coax others to fall in line. The Dems, on the other other hand, tend to favor positions/policies that require eduction of the base to get them behind…..it is *way* easier to make people fearful than it is to educate them (plus, most don’t care to have to work, which learnin’ requires).

One of BO’s great strengths, thus far, is his ability to reduce complex concepts/models/theories into understandable terms that people can get there arms around and absorb. We shall see if he is able to keep walking that path or if events and/or his handlers mute what should be his most effective tool…

@nojo: Agree re third party in the short term. The hook is going to be how firmly the Christian Collation folk are able to lock down control of the GOP. The Dems, it seems, had a more fractured problem…one that allowed a shrewd negotiator (WJC) to herd loosely into a line…many strong voices, but none with especially strong bases. Also, by and large, while the fractional issues were strongly held (enviro, gay rights, labor, etc), they are/were not *dogmatically* held positions…so there is wiggle room to get people in line.

The old school GOP have an ugly problem in that Vocal Minority (and they are still the majority of GOP membership…for now) appear to rally around one standard (or, in this case, cross). There are other Vocal Minorities within the GOP (Flat Taxers, etc)…but they are small and…er…more rationally based. The big issue for the GOP is that there is *no* negotiation room with this section of the base…they hold their positions dogmatically and it is almost impossible to come to compromise regarding dogmatically held positions. This leaves Fis.Cons./Soc.Lib. with the option to either accept the fringier platform issues or look elsewhere.

There is a chance that the Dems can keep their tone moderate enough to be embracing to a broader audience…but that is likely to tweak the Dem’s fringe…and so the cycle continues .

The dogma issue is a biggie…and beyond the scope of a mere party issue. There is a snake-handling renaissance that continues to scare me. It is likely to become more virulent in the face of otherwise liberalizing/rationalizing forces. That whole, “clinging to god and guns” thing. We shall see.

@Mistress Cynica: My dereliction of duty has consisted of exchanging emails with the consumer products manager of the Alliant Powder Company on finding a load for a .250/3000 Savage cartridge using a 60 gr bullet. I finally found at least a guideline to an answer in a reloading manual from 1941 that I can extrapolate to current data. There went almost an hour.

How all Palin interviews should end

@Jamie Sommers: cue Nelson: HAH-ha